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Can't you do it all by phone and mail?  I have a great facilitator in SP who can work miracles with just about anything. PM me if that helps.

@rnbtg These days you can do pretty much everything online, including consulting with an accountant. Perhaps not in your language if you don’t speak any Portuguese. If you know an immigration lawyer or a lawyer that assists with foreign investments, he will certainly know an accountant (or may know where to ask)

i am in the city of Belo Horizonte but I believe Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro have way more professionals who deal with foreigners. Again, you should find remote/online assistance from wherever you are

Thanks all. I’m fluent in Portuguese. I guess I meant how did folks find their accountants? Did you just google? I don’t have a lawyer yet either. This year my income will be quite low since I’m barely working so I doubt I’m on the level of the wealth management type firms I saw in my casual search.

11/12/22 @rnbtg.  I'm a strong believer in working your Brazilian network of family, friends, and acquaintances to find professionals.  We had a friend who was a real estate agent, and we asked her who her accountant was.  She introduced us, we chatted, and we liked her.  We've been with her for four years now; this year I had to push her to take an increase in her fee, since she's never suggested one.

When we bought our apartment, we wanted a lawyer we could trust, so we asked our accountant if she knew anyone.  She recommended an attorney that we like very much and did a good job for us.  She was someone who had recently graduated and qualified for the OAB.  I like working with newly minted lawyers if they're sharp and well-informed, because I think that they're more likely to be up-to-date on the law (which can change quickly), still have strong research skills to learn what they don't know, and ready to work hard to launch their practices and their careers.

Unfortunately there I’m out of luck but as time goes on maybe. My wife’s family and my friends are all very working class and don’t have connections to professionals of any stripe sadly. I’ve gotten a corretor recommendation that panned out so far from some friends. Lawyers and accountants are off the map for them, especially ones with international experience.  It’s a good idea though!

11/12/22 @rnbtg.  Yes, international experience is a big issue.   Brazilian law faculties address Immigration Law as part of International Law, which means that the course is one-and-done (if a separate course is given at all!) and almost nobody specializes in the field.  That's a big reason that I opt for young general practice lawyers:  they probably remember that "one" course better, and are curious to learn more.

I would contend that Brazilian accountants don't need a lot of international knowledge:  they just need to understand the Brazilian system very well, particularly as it applies to income brought in from abroad.  Obviously, being able to read tax forms in English helps, too.

Close relationships may not be necessary for getting good recommendations.  One of my favorite definitions of networking is "the leveraging of weak relationships", which works especially well in Brazil because of the institution of the "jeitinho".  Since you're fluent in Portuguese, you may enjoy this classic crônica by Paulo Mendes Campos in 1964, which makes the point better than I ever could.  Enjoy 😃:

That is good advice as always! Thanks!